JLS - Music on Google Play JLS About the artist JLS were an English pop/R&B boy band consisting of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Oritsé Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming second to Alexandra Burke. Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart. The band's self-titled debut album was released on 9 November 2009, and has since sold over 1 million copies in the UK. JLS won the awards for British Breakthrough and British Single at the 2010 BRIT Awards. They also won several awards at the MOBO Awards for Best song for "Beat Again" in 2009 and also Best Newcomer in the same year. In 2010 they won the MOBO Awards for Best UK act and Best Album.

They also went on to win their fifth MOBO in 2012 by winning Best Video for "Do You Feel What I Feel?". They won the title of the UK's hardest-working band for two constitutive years, in 2011 and 2012. The Saturdays 0 The Saturdays are a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007. The line up consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King and... 0 Alexandra Burke 0 Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke is a British singer-songwriter and voice actor. Burke rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008, becoming one... 0 Cheryl Cole 0 Cheryl Ann Fernandez-Versini is an English singer, dancer, and television personality. Born and raised in Tyne and Wear, she rose to fame in late 2002 as a member of girl group Girls Aloud, which w... 0 Pixie Lott 0 Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott is an English singer, songwriter and actress.

Her debut single, "Mama Do", was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. Her second... 0 Cover Drive 0 Cover Drive are a four-piece band from Barbados consisting of Amanda Reifer, T-Ray Armstrong, Barry "Bar-Man" Hill and Jamar Harding. They have gained commercial success in the United Kingdom. They... 0 Lawson 0 Lawson are an English pop rock band, consisting of Andy Brown, Ryan Fletcher, Joel Peat and Adam Pitts. The band's debut album, Chapman Square, was released on 22 October 2012 and reached number th... 0 Stooshe 0 Stooshe are a British girl group from London, consisting of members Alexandra Buggs, Karis Anderson and Courtney Rumbold. Under Warner Music they broke onto the UK music scene in 2012, with the rel... 0 Olly Murs 0 Oliver Stanley "Olly" Murs is an English singer, songwriter, television presenter and actor. He rose to fame after finishing as the runner up in the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009. He is curr...

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0 Alesha Dixon 0 Having won over the hearts of the nation as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, Alesha Dixon returns to her first love, music, and unveils her brand new single “The Way We Are”. With over 15 years i... 0 Union J 0 Union J are an English boy band consisting of members Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett, Jaymi Hensley, Casey Johnson and previously George Shelley. They were formed in 2011 and originally a trio, consist... 0 Aston Merrygold | News and Photos | Contactmusic.com Olly Murs JLS Aston Merrygold Marvin Humes For a few seconds, Olly Murs thought he had seriously injured JLS star Aston Merrygold . The prank was filmed for Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer show, which is coming next Friday, October 19 to UK Screens. According to The Mirror, Murs was interviewing his pop counterparts, JLS, when Aston volunteered to be shot out of a cannon, and Ollie was nominated to press the button to launch him clear. When the big moment came, with the tension at a suitably palpable level…. nothing happened.

But, being a stereotypical guy, Ollie smacked the button a second time, even harder, and was seen to be shocked as Aston shot out of the cannon, missed the safety net and smacked into a wooden stage. It turned out that the body fired out of the cannon didn’t belong to Aston at all but an experienced stuntman. All was well, of course, as was the man Ollie shot from the canon, but for some time, Mr Murs thought he’d dealt some real damage to his fellow pop star. "Still recovering, still shaking & still shocked!! ‪@JLSOfficial‬ you got me proper today!!" he tweeted after the hoax. JLS star Marvin Humes added: "Just did an amazing prank with @ollyofficial and lots of JLSters!! Absolutely hilarious! Can't wait for u all to see!!" ‬ Stand Up To Cancer represents a collaboration between Channel 4 and Cancer Research. It will see some of he biggest UK stars do all sorts of things, pranks included, to raise money and awareness of Cancer treatment.

Bring on the weekend 👊🏽 Added some new tunes to my #MerrygoldsMixtape Popular Aston Merrygold interview Nightlife Aston Merrygold interview Former JLS member Aston Merrygold has just released his new track ‘Get Stupid’. He talks about his upcoming album, and why he’s enjoying the freedom of going it alone… By Chanelle Tourish 11 August 2015 The name Aston Merrygold may not ring a bell with everyone – unless you happen to be a teenage girl who can recite the name of every boy band member that ever existed. But for the rest of us – and by that we mean adults, whose last boy band poster was The Backstreet Boys – the name sounds a little bit like a fancy biscuit (or is that Ainsley Harriott we’re thinking of?) Either way, Aston Merrygold is in fact a singer and former member of British pop group, JLS. The band, who rose to fame in 2008 after becoming runners-up on the UK TV show The X Factor, went on to release four studio albums, a greatest hits album and sold more than ten million records worldwide.

After achieving remarkable success in the UK, the group finally called it a day in 2013, after five years together. Since then, its members – Marvin Humes, JB Gill, Oritse Williams along with Merrygold – have remained out of the charts. But now, 27-year-old Merrygold is back and going it alone with a brand-new single, ‘Get Stupid’, and an album, Show Stopper due to be released in October. ‘The album will be a bit of a shock to people because it’s stuff I listen to, it has an R&B and pop twist as well as a reggae twist,’ says Merrygold. SIMILAR ARTICLES When Skepta met Time Out ‘I still have yet to finish certain songs and I have ideas of people who I would love to be on the tracks, so when that’s finalised I’ll think about collaborations.’ ‘Get Stupid’ shows off a different side of the singer that fans won’t have seen in his boy band days – with some comparing his sound to Bruno Mars. ‘It has a funky base. I’m sure Bruno Mars draws from the same experiences when he was younger as I did – so Michael Jackson, James Brown and Prince.

I think he’s one of the best showmen in the world right now so to get anywhere near his level would be incredible,’ says Merrygold. Despite carving out a pretty decent career in the UK with JLS, Merrygold says he sees this as a second chance. ‘It’s like starting again. It’s nice I can come off that platform to branch out from something else. It’s like being a footballer and transferring teams. You can have a successful career and move on. In music, people are always trying to reinvent themselves. This is like an introduction to myself.’ While many British pop stars go on to be even more successful post-boy or girl band – Robbie Williams after Take That and Cheryl Cole post Girls Aloud – others haven’t been as successful (Gary Barlow in the ’90s post-Take That, for example). Is that something Merrygold fears? ‘Any act in general comes under criticism, especially whenever they are new. When trying to build up a fan base and mould yourself, you’ll always be compared to stuff. I suppose it depends what you are being compared to and what people see you like. Everything for me has been quite good and positive,’ he explains.

Growing up, the Peterborough native was influenced by bands such as The Jackson Five. He even competed in the UK talent show Stars in Their Eyes in 2002 as Michael Jackson, singing ‘Rockin’ Robin’. The young singer eventually met his fellow JLS bandmates on the audition circuit before they appeared on The X Factor. ‘Before, I was only 25 percent of something. JB, myself, Marvin and Oritse tried to make it together and I learnt so much through that whole experience, which was amazing and I’d never change anything. But now, I’m my own boss in a way and in the studio I can be like, ‘Right I want to talk about this and I can do this, so it’s all I,’ Merrygold says. Since the group split in 2013, Merrygold’s bandmates have gone on to have careers in TV presenting, while Oritse Williams has also launched a solo career. So are the boys competitive? ‘Oh yeah, there’s competition there, but we have that with everything we do. It’s all within banter.

If we had the same release date, Twitter would be hilarious because that’s when stories would come out, but we wouldn’t throw each other under the bus,’ he laughs The singer says he misses his friends and the fun they had performing together, but that he enjoys the creative control as a solo artist. ‘Anything I’ve ever felt or gone through I can put down on paper and record it and let loose. If I’m not happy with it, then I don’t have to do it.’ Having recently performed a secret gig with fellow British group Rudimental at The Act Dubai, where does Merrygold see his music going? ‘It’s all about playing live, so I’m going to be touring to places like Australia. JLS never really had the chance to branch out of the UK, but now I have a great opportunity to travel and get my music out there internationally.’ ‘Stupid Love’ is out now on iTunes. . Previous Article Around Town Parks in Dubai Time Out lists the best parks in Dubai, their prices, parks for BBQ, beach parks, parks with running... Around Town Best parks in Dubai Time Out lists the best parks in Dubai, their prices, parks for BBQ, beach parks, parks with running...

Around Town 15 UAE Instagram accounts you have to follow Time Out celebrates #Instagram500m by profiling 15 UAE Instagram accounts you have to follow, includ... Sport Skyhub Paramotors Xcitor Trike experience reviewed Time Out has a Skyhub Paramotors Xcitor Trike reviewed, the new flying experience in Dubai, at the S... JLS band member displays the X-Factor with a personal plate Pop Success on a Plate for Boy Band Star 12 August 2009 JLS boy band member, Aston Merrygold, was looking for something special to adorn his new white Audi, so what better than a 'JLS' plate. The exact registration, which Aston proudly displayed last night when arriving in style at Faces night club, Essex, accompanied by Simon Webbe from Blue, is not published in order to protect Aston's privacy, but it's the 'JLS' part that matters! Presumably fellow chart-topping, X Factor runners-up, Marvin Humes, Jonathan 'JB' Gill and Oritsé Williams must have been tempted to follow suit as a matching set would be easily and relatively cheap to construct, with prices starting from just a few hundred pounds.

JLS, whose acronym actually stands for 'Jack the Lad Swing', are fortunate to have a name that can be reproduced easily in a vehicle registration. There are countless other examples from the worlds of pop and rock music and many have chosen plates simply in order to show their allegiance to their idols. There are countless plates available to match other common three-letter instances, such as 'REM' and 'ELO' - groups referred to by their acronyms for so long that few people now remember what the letters actually stand for ('Rapid Eye Movement' and 'Electric Light Orchestra' respectively). The most well-known pop acronym must be 'ABBA'. Unfortunately, UK plates never have more than 3 letters together, so a rather expensive 48 BA is the best way to achieve it. Interestingly, the '8' actually provides a more authentic representation of the famous reverse 'B' of the official logo. Somewhere out there are the actual MC 5, U 2 and UB 40 plates, any of which would command a quite large fortune even if you were able to find them for sale. Try the numberplates.com search facility (top right) for your favourite.

Number Plate Search Aston Merrygold: All the right moves Home / Issue 1079 / Features / Aston Merrygold: All the right moves Feature Aston Merrygold: All the right moves Having first shot to fame and fortune as one quarter of UK-chart-topping pop/R&B boy-band JLS, singer/songwriter/dancer Aston Merrygold this month makes his eagerly-anticipated solo debut with the Sixties-R&B-flavoured single â��Get Stupidâ��. Whose musical blend of celebratory horns, pulsating bass groove and vibrant rhythm topped off with Astonâ��s charismatic vocal delivery also precedes the upcoming October release of his all-important debut album â��Show Stopperâ��. Indeed, with Merrygoldâ��s main creative collaborators being hitmaker Edwin â��Lilâ�� Eddieâ�� Serrano (Usher/Jessie J) and Talay Riley (Ellie Goulding / IggyAzalea) with additional input from songwriting duo Karen Poole and Sonny J.

Mason, â��Show Stopperâ�� overall boasts a live instrumental vibe whose musical moods range from the infectious â��Show Meâ�� and seductive Prince-style funk of â��One Night In Parisâ�� to the raw, single-take vocal of the romantic ballad â��You, Me And The Moonâ�� and effortless pop/gospel/dancehall mash-up of â��American Girls.â�� Born Aston Iain Merrygold on February 13, 1988 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire to a Jamaican father and Anglo-Irish mother, a young Aston would go on to attend his hometownâ��s Jack Hunt School while pursuing his initial aspirations to play football professionally. Nevertheless, after developing a nerve problem in his left foot, he would ultimately end up opting to pursue a career in singing and acting instead. A decision which would soon lead to a series of television appearances (including in 2002 appearing - and coming second! - as a young Michael Jackson on â��Stars In Their Eyesâ��!) and endless auditions before in 2006 teaming up with Oritse Williams, Marvin Hulmes and J.B.

Gill to form the R&B/pop vocal quartet UFO. Who, following the groupâ��s entering the sixth series of British high-profile TV reality contest â��The X Factorâ�� in 2008, would eventually go on to change their name to JLS.

Following which, with the foursome eventually ending up in second-place to the showâ��s winner Alexandra Burke, JLS would go on to sign with Sony Musicâ��s Epic Records, for whom they would go on to release four UK Top Ten albums - 2009â��s chart-topping ,Quadruple-Platinum â��JLSâ��; 2010â��s Double-Platinum â��Outta This Worldâ��; 2011â��s Platinum â��Jukeboxâ��; 2012â��s â��Evolutionâ�� - while also impressively scoring five British Number One singles (2009â��s â��Breathe Againâ�� and â��Everybody In Loveâ��; 2010â��s â��The Club Is Aliveâ�� and â��Love You Moreâ��; 2011â��s â��She Makes Me Wannaâ��).

Alongside which other ground-breaking career highlights would include in 2010 winning two BRIT Awards; becoming one of only three British groups ever to sell out 10 dates at Londonâ��s 02 Arena; plus, via their own documentary film â��JLS: Eyes Wide Open 3Dâ�� being shown exclusively for three days only from June 2, 2011 in over 300 cinemas, creating the biggest-selling music event in UK cinema history. Nevertheless, April 24 2013 would surprisingly find JLS announcing they would be splitting following their then-upcoming â��Goodbye The Greatest Hits Tourâ��, which would end with them performing together for the last time on December 22, 2013 at Londonâ��s 02 Arena, in turn bringing a close to a career that had seen the quartet sell over six million records. All of which pretty much brings us up to date.

As an articulate and charming, now-solo Aston meets up for the first time with â��Blues & Soulâ�� Assistant Editor Pete Lewis at Warner Musicâ��s buzzing Kensington HQ to discuss his aforementioned new single and upcoming album in addition to his reflections on his heady chart-topping years with JLS. His debut single â��Get Stupidâ�� â��It was actually a song that started out sitting on a hard-drive for probably about two weeks. You know, myself, Karen Poole and Sonny J. Mason did the session; we knew it was a good song; I spoke to my A&R and the record-label team about it and told them I just needed to go back in and finish itâ�¦ So I did that, and literally a few minutes after I sent it to them I got a phone call from the label where they were like â��This is IT - this is the one weâ��re gonna go with as the first SINGLE!â��. Which kinda THREW me a bit! You know, I was like â��OK, weâ��ve got a single - this means itâ��s time to get back to WORK!â��!...

And then in terms of the title itself, I guess the best way to describe â��Get Stupidâ�� is that itâ��s me basically saying â��Let loose and be FREE!â��! You know, itâ��s like â��When Friday at five oâ��clock hits and the weekend starts and youâ��re ready to party, just be yourself and get STUPID!â��!â�� What we can expect musically from new album â��Show Stopperâ�� â��Musically you can definitely expect a lot of real instrumentation. Because though when we were in JLS we had a lot of stuff that was programmed and it sounded great, for me what Iâ��ve always loved - and whatâ��s still my go-to stuff when Iâ��m in the car today - are the records that used the real instruments back-in-the-day. You know, to me like the live horns, the keys and basslines were the things that really kinda gave you that groove that made people just wanna bounce ALONG. Because it not only SOUNDED good but it FELT great TOO.

Which is why I wanted my first solo record musically to have that kind of live vibe to it, so that it can truly reflect what I as a person see music AS.â�� How Aston today looks back on his chart-topping days as one-quarter of JLS â��I remember it as the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, sometimes all at the same TIME! Like there were a few family things going on in JLS in terms of illness and stuff like that, and this would be like when we were celebrating being Number ONE!â�¦ So yeah, there were some sad times, but then when you look at the professional side, to be as successful as we were here was just AMAZING - the only down-side of that being that it was never taken anywhere ELSE. Which was something we didnâ��t UNDERSTAND. You know, internationally we never felt JLS got the push that we felt it DESERVED. Because even TODAY, if we still walk around these streets NOW, people are like â��Oh my God, itâ��s JLS!â��!

You know, weâ��ve left a legacy where we have opened up a lot of doorsâ�¦ So yeah, aside of the international side of things and some family problems it was an amazing seven/eight YEARS. Where we went from having nothing and driving to gigs up north in Marvinâ��s Volkswagen Golf - Marvin was the only one that had a car at that time - and splitting the paycheque of like Â£100 between us, to where we were propelled into an unbelievable realm of Number One records, millions of dedicated fans... Which for us I guess was all a little SURREAL, where we just felt blessed every day to be in the situation we were IN.â�� The single â��Get Stupidâ�� is out now and the album â��Show Stopperâ�� will follow in October, both through Warner Music astonmerrygold.com FANCY A TWEET?

If you think this article is sweet, please feel free to send us a Tweet...if your Tweet is 'Favourited' by B&S, you could see your comments added to our print issue @AstonMerrygold @BluesandSoul To read more from our exclusive interview with Aston Merrygold, including his thoughts on his new album and his journey from band member to solo artistâ�¦Pick up a copy of the latest Blues & Soul magazine at your local magazine retailer, inc; WH Smith, Menzies + selected Euro Foods, Cost Cutters and a plethora of independents everywhereâ�¦ if they don't stock it, ask for a "B&S shop save" and they will get it for you. Words PETE LEWIS JLS star Aston Merrygold releases debut solo track Get Stupid | Music | Entertainment | Daily Express MUSIC VIDEO: JLS star Aston Merrygold releases debut solo track Get Stupid ASTON MERRYGOLD is preparing to launch his solo career with debut single Get Stupid from the upcoming album Show Stopper.

17:26, Tue, May 26, 2015 | UPDATED: 17:55, Tue, May 26, 2015 PH Aston Merrygold The former boy band star is all set to go it alone. After five years with the chart-topping four-piece he says that he is ready to: "make my own type of music and make my own decisions.” Merrygold's debut single will be released in July, with the album, Show Stopper, following in October. Co-written with Karen Poole and Sonny J. Mason, the single is an electrifying explosion of celebratory horns, pulsating bass grooves and vibrant rhythms topped by his trademark vocal gymnastics. The retro-fuelled soul sound was recorded with live instruments and Aston says that it is firmly geared towards live performances. He also explains the slightly ambiguous song title. “'Get Stupid' is a phrase that people are going to hear and at first not really understand it,” Aston says. “In my thinking 'get stupid' means be free, get loose and when five o’clock hits and people are finishing work, it’s time to get stupid and let your hair down.

"That’s when a lot of people come alive.” WATCH THE VIDEO FOR GET STUPID NEXT Merrygold's charts track record is impressive, which also means he has much to prove. With JLs he scored five No.1 singles and a further top ten placings, as well as four hit albums. The band split 18 months ago after a final celebratory national tour. His return to the charts will be celebrated by fans, although he may have competition close to home. While his bandmate Marvin Humes has pursued a career in radio and television presenting alongside his wife Rochelle, the group's founding member Oritse Williams is also making a bid for solo stardom in the upcoming months. His debut single Waterline will be first out of the gate with a June 8 release. Related articles JLS · 2017 Tour Dates and Concert Tickets | Thrillcall Track Artist for New Show Alerts JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) were a British boy band consisting of members JB Gill, Marvin Humes, Aston Merrygold and Oritsé Williams. They originally signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runner...

JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) were a British boy band consisting of members JB Gill, Marvin Humes, Aston Merrygold and Oritsé Williams. They originally signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming second to Alexandra Burke. Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart. The band's self-titled debut album was released on 9 November 2009, and has since sold over 1 million copies in the UK. JLS won the awards for British Breakthrough and British Single ("Beat Again") at the 2010 BRIT Awards. They also won several awards at the Mobo awards for Best song for "Beat Again" in 2009 and also Best Newcomer in the same year. In 2010 they won the MOBO Awards for Best UK act and Best Album.

They also went on to win their fifth MOBO Award in 2012 by winning Best Video for "Do You Feel What I Feel?". They won the title of the UK's hardest-working band for two constitutive years, in 2011 and 2012. In 2010, JLS signed a record deal in the United States with Jive Records, and released "Everybody in Love" as their debut US single, but it failed to chart. "The Club Is Alive", the lead single from their second studio album, was released in the UK in July 2010, and earned the band their third number-one on the UK Singles Chart. Their single "Love You More", the official single for Children in Need in 2010, was the group's fourth UK number one. Their single "She Makes Me Wanna" featuring Dev was their fifth UK number one. As of 2012, their debut album and single has been named one of The X Factor's top ten biggest-selling debut singles and albums. JLS have sold more than 10 million records worldwide.

As of 2013, they are the sixteenth richest reality TV stars in the UK, with an estimated fortune of £6 million per member, totalling £24 million. On 24 April 2013, it was announced that the band were to split after their fifth album and tour. They released their last book as a band called Forever and a Day, One Last Goodbye X on 24 October 2013. JLS' last ever performance was on 22 December 2013 on the last night of their "Goodbye - The Greatest Hits Tour". Members Oritsé Williams Oritsé Jolomi Matthew Soloman Williams (born 27 November 1986) attended St Edwards School in West London, where he was known as Music Boy. He has two brothers and one sister. When he was 12, his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He had to care for his brothers and sister whilst attending schools and clubs. He attended the British International School in Lagos, Nigeria.

Here he befriended English/Nigerian singer L Marshall (who also attended the school in Lagos) and won his first talent show performing alongside L in his final year. He also attended Larmenier Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. Williams dreamed of being a solo artist from a very young age. He was recruited for many boy bands but believed that a good boy band had to have a good bond between the members. He decided to put together his own boy band, UFO, who later changed their name to JLS (there was another British rock band already called UFO). He also wrote the song "Wow Oh Wow" for Jedward. On 28 September 2013, Williams won the first series of the ITV dancing show Stepping Out, hosted by Davina McCall. Marvin Humes Marvin Richard James Humes (born 18 March 1985 in Greenwich, London, England) is the oldest member of the band. Humes was previously a member of another band called VS, created by Blue member Simon Webbe, but they split shortly after releasing an album. After meeting future fellow band member Aston Merrygold, Humes joined UFO.

Humes appeared in Holby City on the BBC for three years from 2000 to 2003, playing Robbie Waring for 14 episodes. At the age of 14 he starred in a children's programme called K-Club, which helped people with computers and how they work. Humes has been in a public relationship with Rochelle Wiseman since March 2010. They got engaged on 31 December 2011 and married on 27 July 2012 at Blenheim Palace. It was announced on Twitter on 22 November 2012 that they are expecting their first child and on 20 May 2013, Rochelle gave birth to their daughter Alaia-Mai. JB Gill Jonathan Benjamin "JB" Gill (born 7 December 1986) is the son of Cynthia and Keith Gill, and has one brother called Neequaye. Gill spent the first five years of his life living in Antigua, discovering his musical talent at a very early age. After completing his exams at university, he decided to audition for The X Factor in 2007.

It was at this point that he came into contact with the other members of JLS. Gill grew up, mostly, in Croydon and began making music at the age of seven when he played the recorder, piano, flute and guitar. At the age of nine, he joined the choir and went onto perform at the local church. Gill concentrated on his music and began studying at The Centre for Young Musicians (CYM). After leaving the CYM, Gill stayed involved with the school music scene. He was involved with the choir at school. He continued this until he was 15 but had to give it up due to the pressures from the school to concentrate on his rugby career; he was involved with London Irish rugby club until he was 18. Gill eventually decided that he wanted to sing rather than play rugby and took up vocal coaching during a year out before attending university. During this period, Gill was contacted by Oritse to try out for the band because of his musical ear and attention to harmonies. He studied theology at King's College London, staying in halls in Russell Square, before dropping out to pursue a music career.

In December 2012, he won the Christmas Special edition of the BBC program Strictly Come Dancing, performing the Jive with Ola Jordan. JB Gill is now an owner of a farm in Scotland and he will take a pause from music and start a different life as a farmer. In January 2014 it was revealed that JB will team up with DJ and music producer Charlie Hedges to release his debut solo single Best Night of My Life, making him the first member of JLS to release solo materiel. Gill Started dating backing dance Chloe Tangney in late 2008, the couple announced their engagement on the 25th of January. Aston Merrygold Aston Merrygold (born 13 February 1988 in Peterborough, England) was born to a Jamaican father and an Anglo-Irish mother. He is one of seven children; he has five brothers and one sister. He was born and raised in Peterborough, where he attended Jack Hunt School. In 2002, Merrygold entered Stars in Their Eyes where he appeared as Michael Jackson, singing "Rockin' Robin" and finished in second place.

He came in second yet again with JLS on The X Factor at age 20. Aston performed in school productions and, after leaving school in 2004, was cast in a new ITV programme, Fun Song Factory alongside children's TV presenter Laura Hamilton. In the show, Merrygold played the character "Cookie". Whilst still attending secondary school, he played football on behalf of England in the European Youth Games. His initial aspiration was to play football professionally. However, after developing a nerve problem in his left foot, he tried singing and acting instead. Through acting, he met Humes. As a result, he received a call from Williams (an acquaintance of Humes) about joining a boy band. Music career 2006–08: Formation as UFO Oritsé Williams decided to get into the music business mainly because his mother has Multiple sclerosis and he wanted to raise money to help find a cure. He was originally scouted for a number of boy bands but did not feel they were right and believed that a group should have a "real" connection with each other, like his heroes Boyz II Men.

Williams decided to form his own boy band and, through friends, met Marvin Humes who had experience in R&B and pop music, being a part of VS in 2004. Next to join was Aston Merrygold, who was once cast in the ITV children's programme Fun Song Factory, because of his athletic ability. Last to join the group was JB Gill, for his "musical ear" and harmonies. They bonded, became friends and together they were called UFO (an initialism of Unique Famous Outrageous). They signed to Tracklacers developing a sound they then called "Jack the Lad Swing", combining the phrase "Jack the lad" and the urban music of New Jack Swing. While working their way into the music business, UFO instantly signed to Epic Records, before winning their first award in late 2007 at the Urban Music Awards for Best Unsigned Act thanks to their mash-up of "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King and "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston. Shortly thereafter, they released their second single, "Slap Ya Elbow". The group give credit to 'DJ Triz' who produced one of UFO's first songs and helped them write it.

2008–09: The X Factor and new name In 2008, UFO auditioned for the fifth series of The X Factor, but had to change their name because it was already being used by another group, so they decided to go with the name JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing, the style created with Tracklacers some months back). Following the elimination of girl groups Bad Lashes and Girlband in weeks one and two respectively, JLS were Louis Walsh's last remaining act in the competition, but throughout the live shows the judges called them the best band to come out of The X Factor. In week 7, JLS were in the bottom two along with Rachel Hylton. However, they survived thanks to votes from Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell. Cowell stated when casting his deciding vote that JLS did not deserve to be in the bottom two.

In week 8, JLS performed "...Baby One More Time" and received negative comments from two of the four judges, with Cowell saying "at the moment you're out", but after their second performance, "You Light Up My Life", Cowell commented that they were "back in the race" and that they could "have a hit record" with the performance. In week 9, JLS performed "Umbrella" and "I'm Already There". Cowell then predicted they would win the competition. They made it to the final and performed their own version of the winner's song, "Hallelujah", which the other finalist Alexandra Burke also performed. The public voted for the second time that night and Burke won the competition, JLS coming second. They were the fourth band to make the final. Following their success on The X Factor, Cowell's record company, Syco, announced that they were to sign JLS with an advance payment of £75,000. The Sun later reported on 20 January 2009 that Cowell had revoked this offer, having instead decided to focus on Alexandra Burke.

JLS's manager thought the band would be well suited to Epic Records, with whom they signed a record contract in January 2009. 2009–10: JLS As soon as the contract was signed, Epic A&Rs Nick Raphael and Jo Charrington began album preparation by contacting the pop songwriters and producers who they thought to be the best in the industry. These included Steve Mac, Wayne Hector, J.R. Rotem and DEEKAY. When they went to see Mac he played them "Beat Again", a song he had written with Hector, and the pair enthusiastically agreed that it was perfect for JLS. Charrington said: "Once you've got that special song everything else seems to fall into place." The song was released as the debut single in July, only six months after the band had signed with the label. It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 19 July 2009. On 9 November 2009 JLS released their eponymously titled debut album, JLS. The album debuted at No.

1 on the UK Album Chart, selling over 1 million copies and named the sixth best selling album in the UK during 2009, only being released for 8 weeks before the list was compiled. Their second single "Everybody in Love", released on 2 November 2009, also topped the UK Singles Chart. Their third single, "One Shot", peaked at number six despite a physical release, however it did stay in the charts for a number of weeks despite the drop. Due to the success of their album, the group went on their first headline tour, with twenty-five dates around the UK and Ireland. The group also became the first The X Factor contestants to win a BRIT Award in 2010, winning the British Breakthrough and Best British Single for "Beat Again". Jay-Z predicted that they would become as big as 'N Sync. In the beginning of 2010, a bidding war was underway between (US-based) Epic Records and Jive Records to sign JLS to an American deal. The group settled with Jive Records, while continuing to remain with their native signing on Sony Music UK's Epic Records.

As of August 2010, the album has sold over 1.2 million copies and has been certified 4x Platinum in the UK. The album was released as a six-track EP in the United States, featuring tracks "Beat Again", "Everybody in Love", "One Shot", "Only Tonight" and "Close to You" from the UK edition of the album, along with "The Club Is Alive" from the second UK album. It was released on 3 August 2010 and JLS also won two awards at the BT Digital Music Awards 2010 winning Best Group and Best Video for "Everybody in Love" . 2010–11: Outta This World In an interview with HitQuarters recorded in March, producer-songwriter Steve Mac said he was currently at work writing for the second JLS album, Another album contributor, Lucas Secon, said that the style of songs he worked on for the album were "a little more acoustic", prefiguring what he sees as a pop music trend shift from synthetic sounds to a more live approach. Songwriter-producer Chris Braide confirmed in August that he had just written and produced two tracks for the album.

Braide said that he composed "skeleton" versions of the songs by himself, and then two members of JLS then came into his London studio to help complete them. One song was written and recorded within the space of a day. "The Club Is Alive" was announced as the lead single in April and released on 4 July 2010. The group promoted the single on Britain's Got Talent and GMTV. The single debuted at number one, becoming the group's third UK number one single. Then reports suggested that a second single, "Ay Mama", was to be released in United States on 14 September 2010 and was set to feature Barbadian singer-songwriter Shontelle. However the group told Digital Spy that although a song had been recorded with Shontelle, it was never confirmed for the album. On 16 September 2010 the group unveiled the second single, "Love You More" and was a BBC Children in Need single. It was their 4th UK number-one. The group wrote the song with Toby Gad and Wayne Hector.

Outta This World was released on 22 November 2010 and debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart selling 152,000 copies, being held off the number 1 spot by the second week sales of Take That's record breaking Progress album. The album's third single "Eyes Wide Shut" was remixed to feature Tinie Tempah, and has so far reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart. Alongside promoting the single, the group confirmed to The Sun newspaper that they were already beginning the ground work for their third studio album. Merrygold also revealed that the group had teamed up with Bruno Mars for songs on the album, and had spoken about the possibility of working with Usher or Rihanna. JLS are also set to play a series of Summer shows with X Factor series 6 contestant Olly Murs. On 7 January 2011 the album was certified double platinum by BPI, representing sales of over 600,000 in the UK. 2011–12: Jukebox and Evolution JLS began working on their third album, Jukebox in March 2011.

In May 2011 it was confirmed that the first single will feature American singer-songwriter Dev, and is titled "She Makes Me Wanna". The song was produced by BeatGeek, Jimmy Joker, Teddy Sky, who are part of RedOne's production company, after the group bid £30,000 for a recording session with the producer at Alicia Keys' Black Charity Ball in 2010. It was serviced to radio stations on 25 May 2011, while it was released for digital download on 24 July 2011. The album was released on 14 November 2011, and the band will embark on another UK arena tour in support of the album in March and April 2012. On 15 September, JLS announced that "Take a Chance on Me" would be their second single from their album Jukebox. It was released on 4 November 2011, and charted at number two on the UK Singles Chart. The song was written by Emile Ghantous, Frankie Bautista, Nasri Atweh, and Nick Turpin.

The band's third single "Do You Feel What I Feel?" was released on 1 January 2012 and became their lowest charting single to date, peaking at number sixteen. The album charted at number 2 on the UK Album Charts, making it the second consecutive album to miss the number 1 spot, and entered the Irish Album Charts at number 5. In 2012, JLS recorded the official Sport Relief charity single, "Proud". It was released on 18 March 2012. The song was co-written with Daniel Davidsen, Jason Gill, Cutfather and Ali Tennant, who also worked on the Jukebox album. The band were among the performers at the Diamond Jubilee concert held outside Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2012. On 7 June 2012, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the Rays of Sunshine concert, which grants wishes for seriously ill youngsters in the UK aged 3–18 years old.

On 8 June 2012, they were announced to perform at the iTunes Festival 2012, along with The X Factor alumni Olly Murs, One Direction and Rebecca Ferguson. On 21 August 2012, JLS began filming a music video for "Hottest Girl in the World", the lead single from their fourth album. On 25 August, the band announced that their upcoming fourth album would be called Evolution. The album will be released on 5 November. On the direction of the album Merrygold said; "We didn't go by any kind of guidelines or anything like that, we just made what felt right and we're really excited about it." The band also confirmed that a Deluxe version of the LP will be available that will feature bonus and unreleased tracks. Producers on the album include chart-topping US studio bods Rodney Jerkins, Bangladesh, and Midi Mafia. On 6 September, they premiered the lead single, "Hottest Girl in the World", on BBC Radio 1. The single was released on 21 October and debuted at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.

April–Dec 2013: Goodbye – The Greatest Hits and split On 14 December 2012, JLS were invited to Friday Download as special guests. On 17 December, Humes revealed that the group were to release a follow-up album to Evolution in 2013. On 1 February 2013, it was confirmed that work on their fifth studio album had begun. On 23 April 2013, JLS released a statement on their official website announcing that they would be splitting up after releasing their greatest hits collection and completing their third and final arena tour. On 24 April 2013, the band confirmed plans to release Goodbye – The Greatest Hits in late 2013, which would be preceded by a new single to coincide with their farewell arena tour across the UK. It was confirmed on 26 September that their final single will be called "Billion Lights", which was released on 17 November 2013 and charted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart.

JLS officially split up following the final gig of their Goodbye Tour at The O2 Arena in London on 22 December 2013. Other ventures Television appearances As well as appearing on numerous TV programmes for promotion of their albums/singles, JLS have had two special TV shows of their own broadcast. The first was an hour long documentary for ITV2, titled JLS Revealed, which first aired on 7 November 2009. The documentary followed them in the year after they had finished second in The X Factor, capturing them as they toured with Lemar, released their singles and attended the MOBO Awards amongst other highlights. The second show was an hour long entertainment show for ITV titled This Is JLS, which first aired on 11 December 2010 before the first show of that year's X Factor final. Filmed before a live studio audience, the band performed all of their hits, tracks from the Outta This World album and a special duet with Kylie Minogue on her hit song "All the Lovers", as well as partaking in surprise hidden camera stunts for lucky fans who had been invited to be in the audience for the show.

The group have also released their own documentary film titled JLS: Eyes Wide Open 3D, making them the first British music act to release a 3D film. Filmed at The O2 Arena during the tour for their second album Outta This World in December 2010/January 2011, and incorporated with documentary footage shot by Ben Winston and Andy Morahan, it was shown exclusively for three days only from 3 June 2011 in over 300 UK cinemas. Due to many cinemas selling out tickets for the initial weekend, additional screenings were made in cinemas for the following weekend from 10 June 2011, thus, more tickets were available to buy online or on the day of screening. It opened at number 5 in the UK Box Office chart, raking in £463,914 from 3 June weekend screenings alone. A UK DVD release of the film is scheduled for 5 December 2011. JLS also created a one-off Christmas special TV programme called A Very JLS Christmas, in which various celebrities appeared such as Alesha Dixon.

On 28 June 2013, JLS appeared on The Million Pound Drop, playing for charity. JLS Also did their own one off show called This Is JLS Products and endorsements They have also had two best-selling books published, with both featuring photography from the renowned fashion photographer Dean Freeman. The first, Our Story So Far, was published through HarperCollins in September 2009, and went on to become a Sunday Times best-seller. The second, entitled Just Between Us: Our Private Diary, was also published through HarperCollins in September 2010, and was again a best-seller in the run up to Christmas that year. In addition to launching their own clothing line, and the usual merchandising of calendars, posters etc., JLS have also released branded condoms with Durex under the campaign line "Just Love Safe", as part of a charitable organisation they have established called the JLS Foundation, where they are working together with sexual health charities such as Brook to raise awareness of practising safe sex and family planning. The initiative was launched at a press conference in September 2010.

Individually, the band have also become patrons for different charities, namely Beatbullying (Merrygold), Childline (Humes), Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity (Gill) and National MS Society (Williams). Williams was awarded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain with the "Inspiration Award" in April 2010 for his work for the charity. In January 2011 it was announced that they and Alexandra Burke have worked together to create brand new fashion line, 2KX. Burke and JLS stated, "We are eagerly waiting for the first stocks of the ultra-hyped mens' and womenswear range, due very soon." To coincide with the launch of their 3rd album "Jukebox", they will feature in their very own edition of 'TheirMag', a newly formed sister publication to Rio Ferdinand's "#5" magazine. In March 2012, they launched their first fragrance, Kiss, which sold 100,000 bottles on the first day making it the fastest selling celebrity fragrance in 20 years beating superstars such as Madonna, Beyonce, Justin Bieber etc. .

All four of the band members worked with perfume designer Azzi Glasser to form the scent. In February 2013, they launched their second fragrance, Love, which scent ranges from hints of jasmine, white tea, pink orchid, and orange-blossom. Philanthropy In 2010 the group founded "The JLS Foundation" a foundation that sets out to raise money for 6 different charities: Cancer Research UK, Rays of Sunshine, Brook, Childline, Beat Bullying and the MS Society. Despite the split, the foundation still exists and all members are still commited to continue the foundation. JLS have appeared on every Children in need night since 2010. All sales from the JLS number one single Love You More (JLS song) went to Children In Need. In 2011 Merrygold did a VT for the charity in which he met 7 year old Emily who suffers from Osteogenesis imperfecta.In 2012 JLS performed at the "children in need rocks Manchester" concert performing Take a Chance on Me (JLS song).

In 2013 Aston appeared on Children In Need for the last time as a member of JLS where the group sang a medley of JLS songs at the Eastenders set. JLS have also helped raise money for comic relief, apearing in comedy sketches with both Miranda Hart and James Corden. In 2012 all the band members visited Uganda for Sport Relief appearing in emotional VT's across the night. The same year JLS released the official sport relief Charity single proud (JLS song) which peaked at number 6 in the chart, as well as hosting a special charity concert "JLS sing for Sport Relief" and doing the Sport Relief Mile. In total JLS have appeared in 5 charity singles: A cover of Hero (Mariah Carey song) as part of the X Factor 2008 finalists (for Help for Heroes), Wishing On A Star Xfactor finalists ft. JLS and One Direction (For organization Together for Short Lives) Love You More (JLS song) (for Children In Need), Proud (JLS song) (for Sport Relief) and Everybody hurts (for Helping Haiti). 4 out of 5 of these charity singles got to number one on the UK singles chart.

Awards and nominations Ex-JLS star Oritse calls for more help for young carers Despite being part of one of the most successful British groups of recent years, Oritse Williams' priorities remain firmly on the ground. Now the former JLS star is calling for more help for the "silent army" of youngsters helping to take care of their relatives. itv.com

Question: Aston Merrigold first entered the pop charts as a member of which boy band?
Answer: 'JLS'